The past week brought three small raptors to the clinic. Due to their diminutive size, people sometimes think they are babies. If a bird is fully feathered, it is also fully grown. If it is a fledgling, it’s tail feathers will be shorter than adult tail feathers and it may not fly or land well. Both take practice! 

Merlin 26-011 weighed 169 grams at admission and was fully feathered. An average weight is 213 grams or 7.6 ounces. The small falcon was 20% underweight. It had collided with something, fracturing its right humerus and dislocating the right elbow. The injuries could not be repaired and the bird was euthanized. 

Northern Pygmy Owl 26-012 weighed 51 grams (less than 2 ounces) at admission and was a fully feathered adult. An average adult weight is 62 grams so this tiny raptor was nearly 20% underweight. An x-ray showed its left humerus was fractured. Again, the damage could not be repaired.

Western Screech Owl 26-013 weighed 182 grams at admission. Screech Owl weights can vary. We have admitted 250 gram owls. Perhaps this was a male owl (male raptors tend to be smaller than female raptors). Sadly, he had collided with something hard enough to dislocate his left shoulder. The joint displacement and swelling was so severe the left wing could not be fully extended when positioning for the x-ray. There was little hope he would ever fly again. 

The first photo below shows the displacement and swelling of the shoulder. The second photo compares the right and left scapulas. The orientation of the right scapula is normal. The left scapula is displaced. The large white mass in the lower abdomen is a pellet that is almost ready to be cast (regurgitated). All raptors expel the non-digestible parts of their meal in this manner. A useful way to reduce the amount of energy needed to fly.

It was a sad week, but we know spring and a new hospital are on the way. Thank you for your support on this journey.